1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for practicing the game of golf and more particularly to a target device which provides a laser beam enabling a user to properly aim and align the face of a putter thereby optimizing the practice of putting.
2. Description of Related Art
Apparatus employed by golfers for the practice of putting are well known in the art. A variety of target devices which simulate golf course holes are commercially available and offer golfers an opportunity to practice putting indoors. Such devices are usually placed on an adjacent floor that is covered by a carpet or other suitable material providing the golfer with a target and a surface upon which to practice putting without having to go out on a golf course.
Typically, simulated holes placed on carpeted floors are utilized to practice relatively short straight putts, for example, between one and ten feet. The correct execution of this type of putt necessitates proper club face alignment and proper club face speed. A successful short straight putt requires that the club face, at the moment of impact, is perpendicular to the intended path of the ball and that the club speed is sufficient to propel the ball to the hole. If the club face is not aligned perpendicularly to the intended path of the ball, the ball is directed either to the right or to the left of the hole depending on the golfer's alignment error. If the ball is not struck with the correct club head speed, the putt may not reach the hole because it is travelling too slowly or it may fly over the hole because it is travelling too quickly.
Club alignment is an eye-hand coordination skill that is usually enhanced by repeatedly aiming practice putts at the hole and by noting the actual directions of the attempted putts. Club head impact velocity is a matter of feel that may be perfected by a golfer judging the so called speed or condition of the putting surface and by observing the actual speed and/or distance of putted balls. When instructing correct club alignment to students on an actual grass practice green, some teaching professionals snap a carpenter's chalk line on the grass surface such that the line radiates from the target hole thereby marking an optimum path along which to aim practice putts. In addition, teaching professionals often use a flat ball marker pressed into the green to provide the student with a target spot lying on the optimum path of a successful putt. The student aims his or her practice putts at the spot, a technique which some players find improves their putting skills.
In order to optimize the practice of putting, it is generally accepted that a golfer train with his or her personal putter. The appearance of a properly aligned club face, the weight of the head and the feel of the club are important factors which influence the development of a successful and repeatable putting stroke. A substantial number of prior art training apparatus require that golfers affix various devices to their putters thereby effecting the feel and the appearance of the club. Therefore, it is desirable if golfers do not have to add any attachments to their putters while practicing putting.
As can be seen from the foregoing, there is a need for a putting practice apparatus which may be used indoors and outdoors and which provides not only a practice target hole but also a means by which to easily designate the optimum path of a successful putt. Further, as mentioned above, it is considered advantageous if the practice apparatus may be used without having to affix any devices to the player's personal putter.
The following United States Patents show prior art aiming systems to which the present invention is applicable:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,806 which issued on Mar. 14, 1978 to John R. Brandell discloses a golf practice apparatus embodying a target and a kicker for returning a ball to a person making a putt into the target. His apparatus also includes a mechanism for adjusting the force with which a ball is returned by the kicker. Brandell's disclosure does not solve the problem of providing a means by which to conveniently designate on the putting surface the optimum path of a successful putt aimed at the target, thus enhancing the practice of putting when using the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,718 which issued on Nov. 26, 1991 to J. Paul Knox et al discloses a golf putting target for receiving putted golf balls. LED's across the front of the target may be selectively energized to vary the target area. An infrared transmitter on one side of the target emits energy to two receivers located on the opposite side thereof, thereby providing a means by which a microprocessor mounted in the device calculates and displays the speed and direction of practice putts received therein. The disclosed device also includes an automatic ball return mechanism. However, the apparatus taught by Knox et al does not provide a means by which to easily mark a spot or a line on the playing surface enabling the user to visualize an optimum path of a successful putt aimed at the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,574, which issued on Dec. 29, 1992 to J. Paul Knox et al is a Division of U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,178, the disclosure of which is summarized above. Knox's divisional disclosure teaches substantially the same art as his parent patent which does not include a means enabling a user to visualize an optimum path of a successful putt.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,188 which issued on Jul. 19, 1994 to Eric W. Reimers discloses a putter alignment system which, in a first embodiment, includes a putter component and a target component. The putter component comprises a reflector affixed to the face of a user's putter and the target component includes an emitter generating an electromagnetic signal beam. To practice proper club face alignment, the user aims his or her putter, having the reflector mounted on the face thereof, at the target. The beam emitted by the target component is reflected back at the target by the reflector mounted on the impact surface of the user's putter. The location of the reflected beam is sensed by a receiver mounted on the target which detects the location of the reflected beam and displays its location by illuminating a light thereover. In a second embodiment, the putter component includes an emitter mounted on the head of the putter rather than on the target component. Reimer's patent does not solve the problem of providing a means by which to conveniently designate the optimum path of a successful putt aimed at the target hole thus enhancing the practice of putting when using the device. Further, Riemer's disclosure does not provide the player a practice apparatus which may be employed without having to add a device to his or her personal putter.
In summary, the prior art cited above has neither addressed nor solved the problem of providing the user an arrangement by which to easily mark on the playing surface the ideal line of a successful putt for optimizing the practice of putting.